Almighty God, You are the Creator of all things. You give mankind dominion over all that You have made. May we use the natural resources of our state in ways that honor You as Creator and that serve the common good. Give us wisdom to know what is the common good. Give us the courage and a heart to defend the legitimate concerns of those who have little power.

May our care for the common good and for what is truly just and right, and our respect for You the Creator be so thorough that we fulfill the word of the prophet:

The Speaker appointed the following to act as Honorary Pages for the Day, to serve without compensation: Hannah Black and Rebecca Grossman.

AYES: 154

Aull	Avery	Baker 25	Baker 123	Bean
Bearden	Behnen	Bivins	Black	Bland
Bogetto	Bowman	Boykins	Bringer	Brooks
Brown 30	Brown 50	Bruns	Casey	Chinn
Chappelle-Nadal	Cooper 120	Cooper 155	Cooper 158	Corcoran
Cunningham 145	Cunningham 86	Curls	Darrough	Daus
Davis	Day	Deeken	Dempsey	Denison
Dethrow	Dixon	Donnelly	Dougherty	Dusenberg
El-Amin	Emery	Ervin	Faith	Fares
Fisher	Flook	Franz	Fraser	George
Guest	Harris 23	Harris 110	Haywood	Henke
Hobbs	Hoskins	Hubbard	Hughes	Hunter
Icet	Jackson	Johnson 47	Johnson 61	Johnson 90
Jolly	Jones	Kelly	Kingery	Kratky
Kraus	Kuessner	Lager	Lampe	Lembke
LeVota	Lipke	Loehner	Low 39	Lowe 44
Marsh	May	McGhee	Meadows	Meiners
Moore	Munzlinger	Muschany	Myers	Nance
Nieves	Nolte	Oxford	Page	Parker
Parson	Pearce	Phillips	Pollock	Portwood
Pratt	Quinn	Rector	Richard	Robb
Robinson	Roorda	Rucker	Ruestman	Rupp
Salva	Schaaf	Schad	Schlottach	Schneider
Schoemehl	Self	Shoemyer	Silvey	Skaggs
Smith 14	Smith 118	Smith 150	Spreng	Stevenson
St. Onge	Storch	Sutherland	Swinger	Threlkeld
Tilley	Viebrock	Villa	Wagner	Wallace
Walsh	Walton	Wasson	Wells	Weter
Whorton	Wildberger	Wilson 119	Wilson 130	Witte
Wood	Wright 137	Wright 159	Wright-Jones	Yaeger
Yates	Young	Zweifel	Mr Speaker

NOES: 002

Burnett	Vogt

PRESENT: 000

ABSENT WITH LEAVE: 004

Liese	Roark	Sander	Sater

VACANCIES: 003

The hour of the Joint Session having arrived, the Senate in a body was admitted and President Pro Tem Gibbons, presiding, called the Joint Assembly to order.

The Secretary of the Senate called the roll, which showed a majority of Senators present:

AYES: 030

Alter	Barnitz	Bartle	Bray	Callahan
Cauthorn	Champion	Clemens	Coleman	Crowell
Days	Dougherty	Engler	Gibbons	Goodman
Green	Griesheimer	Gross	Kennedy	Klindt
Mayer	Nodler	Purgason	Ridgeway	Scott
Shields	Stouffer	Vogel	Wheeler	Wilson

NOES: 000

PRESENT: 000

ABSENT WITH LEAVE: 003

Graham	Koster	Loudon

VACANCIES: 001

The Chief Clerk of the House called the roll, which showed a majority of Representatives present:

AYES: 147

Aull	Avery	Baker 25	Baker 123	Bean
Bearden	Behnen	Bivins	Black	Bland
Bogetto	Bowman	Boykins	Bringer	Brown 30
Bruns	Burnett	Casey	Chinn	Chappelle-Nadal
Cooper 120	Cooper 155	Cooper 158	Corcoran	Cunningham 145
Cunningham 86	Curls	Darrough	Daus	Davis
Day	Dempsey	Denison	Dethrow	Dixon
Donnelly	Dougherty	Dusenberg	El-Amin	Emery
Ervin	Faith	Fares	Fisher	Flook
Franz	Fraser	George	Guest	Harris 23
Harris 110	Haywood	Henke	Hobbs	Hoskins
Hubbard	Hughes	Hunter	Icet	Jackson
Johnson 61	Johnson 90	Jolly	Jones	Kelly
Kingery	Kratky	Kraus	Kuessner	Lager
Lampe	Lembke	Lipke	Loehner	Low 39
Lowe 44	Marsh	May	McGhee	Meiners
Moore	Munzlinger	Muschany	Myers	Nance
Nieves	Nolte	Oxford	Page	Parson
Pearce	Phillips	Pollock	Portwood	Pratt
Quinn	Rector	Richard	Roark	Robinson
Roorda	Rucker	Ruestman	Rupp	Salva
Sander	Sater	Schaaf	Schad	Schlottach
Schoemehl	Self	Shoemyer	Silvey	Skaggs
Smith 14	Smith 118	Smith 150	Spreng	Stevenson
St. Onge	Storch	Sutherland	Swinger	Threlkeld
Tilley	Viebrock	Villa	Vogt	Wagner
Wallace	Walsh	Walton	Wasson	Wells
Weter	Whorton	Wildberger	Wilson 119	Wilson 130
Witte	Wood	Wright-Jones	Yaeger	Yates
Young	Mr Speaker

NOES: 000

PRESENT: 000

ABSENT WITH LEAVE: 013

Brooks	Brown 50	Deeken	Johnson 47	LeVota
Liese	Meadows	Parker	Robb	Schneider
Wright 137	Wright 159	Zweifel

VACANCIES: 003

Lt. Governor, Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tem, Distinguished State Officials, Members of the 93^rd General Assembly, Members of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, and Citizens of Missouri:

Last year during this address, I made a lot of bold statements. I said that together, the people of Missouri and MoDOT, would make our highways smoother and safer, sooner than anyone could imagine. I said that MoDOT would become a model for state government by demonstrating openness, accountability and an unrelenting focus on the people we serve. And I said we would make the absolute best use of every taxpayer dollar we spent on your transportation system.

Last year, I talked the talk. During the past year, we have walked the walk. With your help, we are proud to bring you progress you can feel!

You are feeling that progress through the improved smoothness and safety of our highways. The voters of Missouri presented us with the opportunity to do great things by passing Amendment 3. We moved quickly to get vital projects ready to go and in 2005 our Smoother, Safer, Sooner plan roared full speed ahead.

I have said many times that people judge the job MoDOT is doing through the seat of their pants. In other words, the smoothness of our roads.

Upon completion of this initiative, over 2,200 miles of Missouri's busiest highways will be in good condition. These highways carry 60 percent of all traffic, and 86 percent of our population lives within 10 miles of one of them. Nearly 29 billion miles a year are traveled on these roads. We are making them smooth. That is progress millions of Missourians can feel.

As the average age of our driving population increases we must accommodate their needs too. So the Smooth Roads Initiative also means progress you can see and hear. Progress you can see through larger, easier-to-read road signs; and brighter, wider pavement markings. Progress you can hear through rumble stripes that alert you loud and clear when you are veering off the roadway and that provide a clear path on highway shoulders for bicyclists.

We moved quickly to get Amendment 3 improvements started, and a majority of Smooth Roads Initiative projects are now under contract. In his State of the State Address, however, Governor Blunt issued a challenge to even further speed up our efforts to improve Missouri's highways. He challenged MoDOT to complete the Smooth Roads Initiative by the end of 2006 - a full one year ahead of schedule. And, not that we're keeping track, but that is a mere 327 days, 13 hours, 19 minutes and 46 seconds from now.

This is a major challenge, but the Governor was right to stress fixing our roads as fast as possible. It is paramount to the success of our state. The sooner we finish, the sooner we benefit from the results. It will not be easy, but we will meet the Governor's challenge. When we do, it will be progress you can feel. . . in record time.

A sage once said, “The shortest distance between two points is . . . under construction.” Well, we demonstrated that in 2005 with over 1,000 work zones from border to border. A record number of work zones means a record number of opportunities to inconvenience travelers. We responded to this by working closely with our contractors to ensure work zones flowed as well as possible and that they were safe for crews and the traveling public. We are committed to progress, but we must achieve it safely.

There is no doubt, 2006 will be even bigger - in fact, the biggest year in Missouri's highway construction history. That's unprecedented progress. Progress you can feel!

The second element of Smoother, Safer, Sooner focused on getting scheduled highway improvements done quicker. Bonding made possible by Amendment 3 allowed us to speed up work already in our five-year construction plan - some by several years. We have moved up 55 projects totaling four hundred and thirty two million dollars, with work already under way on more than 35 highway improvements.

Getting this work done sooner is extremely important. An improved road saves lives, creates jobs, and makes travel more efficient for millions of drivers. This is a vital aspect of our Amendment 3 implementation. This is progress you can feel!

The third element of Smoother, Safer, Sooner resulted from the most open and transparent highway improvement selection process in Missouri’s history and, I am confident, the entire nation. We invited private citizens from every region of Missouri to sit at the table with MoDOT and decide what new projects should be added to our five-year plan.

The people of Missouri helped us identify 39 projects to be added to the five-year construction program. These are high-priority, major projects totaling one point six billion dollars that otherwise could not have been built for decades.

Ladies and gentlemen, this progress means that you can feel the state of your transportation system improving, but there is much work left to be done and insufficient resources to do it. Amendment 3 and the outstanding work of our congressional delegation on the renewal of the federal transportation-funding bill have provided an increased highway revenue stream that is greatly appreciated, and we are using it to dramatically improve your state highways. However, in 2010 the construction bubble bursts and our construction program will diminish by over six hundred million dollars annually.

Our five-year construction program will average one point four billion dollars per year. We will make the best use of every dollar spent to successfully complete the largest transportation program in Missouri’s history with 866 projects totaling seven point three billion dollars.

At the end of those five years, however, our per-year construction average will plummet to $805 million. Additionally, we are experiencing higher fuel prices and a decrease in car sales. These are factors that add up to less than expected revenues for needed highway improvements and increasing costs to build them.

The sun is shining on transportation in Missouri, but there are storm clouds on the horizon. Good old Missouri common sense says that you fix the roof when the sun is shining not once it starts raining. It is imperative that we initiate a discussion about future transportation investments.

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the nation’s interstate highway system. Interstate highways have changed the American way of life. They have brought us closer together, revolutionized freight shipment and fueled the most powerful economic engine in world history. Unfortunately, interstate highways weren’t built to last 50 years.

In Missouri, stretches of I-70 that are now nearly 50 years old were designed to last just 20 years. There was no way to predict that this corridor, connecting our two largest cities and Missouri to the world, would carry the amount or type of traffic it now does. The congestion on I-70 presents safety concerns, could affect productivity and has damaged this vital highway all the way to its core. By 2030, the entire length of I-70 will be stop-and-go traffic and I-44 is just ten years behind. The bottom line is that our interstates are victims of their own success.

I-70 needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and needs to be expanded to accommodate ever-growing traffic and the ever-larger vehicles using it. A total reconstruction would cost more than three and a half billion dollars. With current funding, however, we will only be able to rebuild this vital corridor one short section at a time. That method will mean none of us will be alive to see its completion.

Unfortunately, while we know how much it will cost to fix I-70 and we know what will not work as a reasonable way to pay for it, we do not know how we WILL pay for it.

As Ron McLinden of the Sierra Club mentioned to me, “The future isn't what it used to be.” We are now competing in a global economy with legitimate global competitors. China, for example, is replicating our interstate system, along with major new air and water ports, and is already a world economic power that will challenge U. S. markets in the future.

We must not lose our competitive advantage in the global economy and part of maintaining that advantage is investing in transportation. We know that right here in Missouri for every dollar spent on transportation we get a five-dollar return on that investment. We must continue to invest and, to do so, we must find innovative ways to generate the money. We face many tough decisions that cannot be avoided.

Big problems, however, do not have to mean inaction. Due to unique circumstances involving a new Mississippi River Bridge, we are asking the General Assembly to authorize the creation of an innovative public/private partnership to construct a sorely needed new river crossing in St. Louis. We have gone back to the drawing board on this project and, working with the Illinois Department of Transportation, have reduced its cost by nearly half. Yet, we still do not have the money to build it.

A new river bridge in St. Louis would benefit our entire state through commerce, tourism, safety and positive environmental impacts. Analysis by the Missouri Department of Economic Development shows a 16 to one return on investment for this project. I urge you to pass this vital legislation quickly.

We also support legislation this year to redirect the sales tax paid by highway contractors to transportation. MoDOT is charged with being a transportation department, but it is funded like a highway department. Our plan is to use revenue generated by the highway contractors' sales tax to fix this situation.

Ending this mini-diversion from transportation will mean better airports for economic development. Greater access to rail and river resources to move freight and reduce traffic on our highways. And better public transit options in both our urban and rural communities.

Now, I realize that we cannot expect major increases in resources . . . until the public knows that we make the absolute best use of every tax dollar. It is imperative that we stretch our dollars to do more because that's what the people of Missouri demand.

MoDOT is listening and responding. A major reconstruction of I-64, also known as Highway 40, is in the works. It will be the largest highway construction project in Missouri history. It will also be the most innovative through the use of a design-build process and unprecedented contractor flexibility to allow for innovations and cost savings. The completion of this project will mean congestion relief and greater connectivity for motorists in St. Louis. That is progress of record proportions.

With progress, however, sometimes comes annoyance. We will do everything we can to minimize inconvenience to travelers on this 12-mile section of highway, but some inconvenience is inevitable. What we will not do though is close I-64 in its entirety for the duration of construction. That is our promise to the people of St. Louis. We have heard you, we have responded and that option is off the table.

While a complete closure is off the table, we are giving more people a seat at the table. A job can change a life. Therefore, we are working with community organizations that represent Missouri's under served to ensure greater opportunity for low income and minority citizens in our highway program. It is our hope that I-64 will become a model for the future.

Our innovations also include the implementation of a common sense approach to designing highway construction projects. This no-frills philosophy, called Practical Design, allows us to build safe roads and bridges that meet the needs of Missourians without unnecessary extravagances. This approach allows us to save money on each project so we can do even more projects.

Through Practical Design, we will save four hundred million dollars on highway improvements over the next five years. That is four hundred million dollars going to vital road work in all parts of this state, work that would not have been done previously. Now THAT is progress taxpayers feel in their pocketbooks.

Our innovations also include the most extensive results-based performance measuring system in state government. Through a report called the Tracker, we provide you and all Missourians with a direct window into MoDOT - warts and all.

We have identified 18 tangible results that the people of Missouri expect us to deliver. These include smooth and unrestricted roads and bridges; uninterrupted traffic flow; a safe transportation system; personal, courteous and fast customer service; the best value for every dollar spent; and customer involvement in decision making - among other vital outcomes.

To gauge our progress toward these critical results, we track 123 measures. How we are doing on these measures, good or bad, is reported in the Tracker quarterly and immediately released for anyone to see. Hard copies are made available and it is posted on our web site.

We are proud that the Governor's Government Review Commission cited the Tracker as a model for other state agencies and has recommended that they implement similar processes. That feels like progress to me.

Additionally, we have looked to the people of this state for innovative solutions to our transportation challenges. For example, we brought together private citizens, business leaders, elected officials, highway contractors, consultants and many others for a day-long session to identify ways we can do things better, faster and cheaper.

We call this process Partnering for Innovative Efficiencies. It has yielded numerous ideas, many of which we are implementing, and we are planning another session in April where we will further focus on better, faster and cheaper ways to improve transportation in Missouri.

I believe strongly that we must continuously find ways to do things better, faster and cheaper. When I asked MoDOT workers to do things better, however, the response was, “just better isn't good enough. We will not produce a world class transportation system unless we do world class work.”

When I said faster, MoDOT workers said, “faster isn't fast enough. We will move at unreasonably fast speeds to deliver the best transportation system in the world.”

When I said cheaper, MoDOT workers said, “we will build quality products of great value - efficiently - and we will save the taxpayers of this state more money than you would have thought possible.”

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the new MoDOT! An organization committed to innovation. Our approach is economical, but our success will be enormous. We are listening to you. We are working with you. We are showing you progress like never before - progress you can feel!

In 2005, MoDOT employees showed there is no limit to how far they will go to help their fellow Missourians. During the past year, these dedicated public servants have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

When the Taum Sauk Dam failed last December in south central Missouri, MoDOT employees were among the first on the scene. Operations Engineer Henry Haggard was a mere 15 minutes behind the wall of water that flooded the area. He arrived on Route N and began coordinating crews clearing the roadway.

Among those crew members were Ben Meredith and Justin Blankenship of Centerville and Nick Lambert of Belleview. These folks did not stop until the roads were clear of debris, traffic could pass again, an alternate route could be used if the second dam failed and whatever else needed to be done was done. They and many other members of the MoDOT family went home covered in mud, but today they are wrapped in our appreciation.

MoDOT employees responded heroically to that disaster, but heroism is common among the people with whom I am privileged to work. Tragedy struck twice near a repaving project on Route 61 through Moscow Mills. On both occasions, MoDOT Construction Inspector Lee Ann Kelly reacted in heroic fashion.

At around 2 a.m. on August 11, a man was thrown from his motorcycle landing on the centerline, with the cycle in the middle of the passing lane. As a licensed emergency medical technician, Lee Ann knew what to do. Traffic was diverted and she enlisted a bystander to hold the gentleman's head while she cared for him until an ambulance arrived.

Just a few weeks later, another accident occurred at Route 61 and U south of Troy. Lee Ann ran to the wrecked car. The driver was unconscious sitting upright in the driver's seat. She placed his head in the correct position, opened his airway, and made sure he was breathing until emergency responders could reach the scene.

Local law enforcement officials credited Lee Ann with saving both drivers' lives. Lee Ann and the Taum Sauk responders are here today. I ask them to stand and receive the recognition they deserve.

These are just five of the outstanding people who work for MoDOT and are dedicated to public service. They reacted to dire circumstances in extraordinary ways.

We are asking all MoDOT employees, however, to accomplish extraordinary feats. We are asking them to complete the single largest transportation project in Missouri history, we are asking them to deliver the largest construction program in Missouri history, we are asking them to deliver the Smooth Roads Initiative a full year early and we are holding them accountable for results at every step along the way.

Last year, I promised you that MoDOT employees would accomplish these things and more without adding personnel or new buildings. We have kept that promise and will remain committed to it.

MoDOT employees are doing more, but like other state employees they have not received a significant pay increase in five years. Therefore, I ask the General Assembly to pass a four percent across-the-board pay increase for Missouri's dedicated state employees. Missouri has a lot of things to be proud of - being last in state employee pay isn't one of them.

Statewide, we are focused on saving more than 200 lives per year and getting traffic fatalities below 1,000 by 2009. Through a partnership with the Highway Patrol, local law enforcement, highway safety advocates and other governmental agencies we have formed the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety. I know this grassroots effort will save lives on Missouri's roads.

The news from 2005, however, is not good. After a dramatic decrease in traffic deaths in 2004, fatalities increased by 9 percent this past year. 1,234 sons and daughters, mothers and fathers lost their lives on our highways in 2005. These numbers are unacceptable, undeniably tragic and an inexcusable embarrassment to our state.

They are particularly inexcusable when you consider that we could save 90 lives per year through a primary safety belt law. We can accomplish that noble goal by simply allowing officers to enforce our current law that requires safety belt use.

Now, I realize this issue may not be universally popular, but I feel a moral obligation to appeal to you once again for a primary safety belt law. Not because it is necessarily popular, but because it is right.

Doing what is right isn't always easy, but it is always right. We are losing an obscene number of Missourians to traffic crashes. A primary safety belt law will save lives and it is the right thing to do.

Etched in stone over the back entrance to this chamber is the phrase, “Progress is the law of life.” In other words, when we are through making progress, then we are through. Well, we're not through. With your help, MoDOT will continue to get better, to make our transportation system better and to make our great state better.

You don't achieve progress, however, through talk. You achieve it through action. On the wall of my office I have a sign with an equation that reads, “Dreams minus Action equals Squat.”

MoDOT is your action agency. We dream big, and we deliver big. Gone is the indecisive bureaucracy. Arrived is the more nimble organization that gets things done. The department that produces real progress. Progress you can feel.

To paraphrase a great Missourian, George Washington Carver: It will only be when MoDOT does common things in an uncommon way that people will take notice. That's our commitment to you - to make you notice uncommon progress. Progress you can feel.

So, how does this make you feel? In the coming years, we will undertake the reconstruction of I-64 in St. Louis and will finally connect it to I-70. We will also build a new Paseo Bridge in Kansas City. And we will complete the four-laning of U.S. 67 from Festus to Poplar Bluff.

Within five years, we will have new major river bridges in Hermann and Atchison.

Plus, we will complete the four-laning of U.S. 60 from Springfield to Sikeston; the four-laning of U.S. 71 from I-44 to Arkansas; the four-laning of U.S. 61 from Iowa to St. Louis; the four-laning of U.S. 65 from Buffalo to Arkansas; the four-laning of U.S. 36 from St. Joseph to Hannibal; the four-laning of U.S. 13 from Clinton to Springfield and the four-laning of U.S. 63 from Kirksville to Jefferson City.

Additionally, our 2,200 busiest miles of state highways - including all of I-70, all of I-44 and every other interstate in Missouri - will be in good condition.

What does that feel like to you? That feels like real, tangible progress to me. Progress you can feel!

I look forward to working with each of you for even greater progress in the years ahead. Thank you and may God bless your travels.

HB 1683, introduced by Representatives Stevenson, Bearden, Moore, Sanders Brooks, Wasson, Sander, Portwood, Pearce, Dusenberg, Wilson (130), Jones, Schad, Myers, Pratt, Jetton, Wood, Weter, Kingery, Sater, McGhee, Flook, Deeken, Denison, Kelly, Cunningham (86) and Rector, relating to regulation of conflict of interest and lobbying.

HB 1684, introduced by Representative Stevenson, relating to business regulations.

HB 1685, introduced by Representatives Oxford, Young, Low (39) and Bowman, relating to provision of heat-related utility services to low-income persons.

HB 1686, introduced by Representatives Chappelle-Nadal, McGhee and Brown (50), relating to pit bull ownership.

HB 1687, introduced by Representatives Wright (137), Portwood, Franz, Wilson (130), Wallace, Fisher, Parson, Denison, Pollock, Stevenson, Wilson (119), Richard, Dixon, Jones, Cunningham (145), Emery, Wasson, Kingery and Kelly, relating to unused prescription drugs.

HB 1688, introduced by Representatives Johnson (47), Yates, Dusenberg, Pratt, LeVota, Kraus, Young, Lowe (44), Dougherty, Bland, Hughes, Meiners, Salva, Jolly, Sanders Brooks, Low (39), Burnett, Curls and Brown (50), relating to the sole purpose of excluding a sales tax imposed by Jackson County for sports stadium improvement from economic activity tax revenues for tax increment finance projects.

HB 1689, introduced by Representatives Wilson (130), Ruestman, Brown (30), Bivins, Smith (118) and Stevenson, relating to abandoned property law applicability.

HB 1690, introduced by Representatives Wilson (130), Brown (30), McGhee, Bean, Nieves, Bivins, Dusenberg, Sanders Brooks, Ruestman, Meadows, Brown (50), Moore and Stevenson, relating to school board members.

HB 1691, introduced by Representatives Baker (25), Whorton, Johnson (90), Bland, Walsh, Bogetto, Jolly, Sanders Brooks, Chappelle-Nadal, Storch, Hughes, Schoemehl, Witte, Lampe, Parker, LeVota, Page, Shoemyer, Low (39), Fraser, Lowe (44) and Harris (23), relating to women's preventive health services.

HB 1692, introduced by Representative Cooper (120), relating to sales taxation of coin-operated amusement devices.

HB 1693, introduced by Representative Wasson, relating to private investigators.

HB 1694, introduced by Representatives Donnelly, Roorda, Yaeger, Walsh, Johnson (90), Darrough, Zweifel, Lampe, Curls, Villa, Moore, Whorton, Sanders Brooks and Storch, relating to life insurance benefits for Missouri national guard personnel.

HB 1695, introduced by Representatives Donnelly, Meiners, Roorda, Wildberger, Yaeger, Darrough, Sanders Brooks, Walsh, Kratky, Zweifel, Hughes, Lowe (44), Salva, Johnson (47), Young, Wright-Jones, Brown (30), Hunter, Cooper (120), Vogt, Deeken, Loehner, Jones, Black, Johnson (61), Storch and Lowe (39), relating to the Missouri Political Cyberfraud Act.

HB 1696, introduced by Representative Icet, relating to civil actions for damages.

HB 1697, introduced by Representatives Brown (50), Hubbard, Hughes, Bland, Harris (23), Burnett, Sanders Brooks, Haywood, Hoskins, Flook, Wildberger, Daus, Dougherty, Aull, Bogetto, Kuessner, Storch, Weter, Bowman, Curls, Walton, Boykins, Rucker, Nolte, Day, Meadows, Nieves, Jones, Parson, Loehner, Schad, Meiners, George, Spreng, Johnson (61), Johnson (90), Lowe (44), Wagner, Vogt, Jolly, Darrough, Corcoran, Johnson (47), Lampe, Avery, Faith, Moore, Wright (137), Page, Pearce and Schneider, relating to a tax credit for employers who hire high school students for summer jobs.

Representative Emery has been appointed a member of the Appropriations-Education Committee.

Representative Self has been appointed a member of the Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee.

Due to an error in the writing of House Bill No. 1564 I would like to request that it be withdrawn. Please contact me if you have any questions at 1-1446.

On motion of Representative Dempsey, the House adjourned until 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 8, 2006.

Department of Revenue continued if necessary and budget for General Assembly. AMENDED